Before Sean Taylor was Sean Taylor

(Watch Video Before, During, or After) RIP Sean Taylor




When I say Sean Taylor a few things might pop into your head; shot and killed way to early in life, talented hard hitting safety for Redskins and Hurricanes, or who is he? No matter what pops into your mind Sean Taylor will be remembered before those days and when I was in High-School.


It was my sophomore year in High-School and just like any other year Football season started the year off with Football. We had spent the last 2 years being beat by Bolles High school out of Jacksonville in the Regional Finals last two years but behind running back Rashard Dudley and Quarterback Jeff Mathis we were poised to make another run at State. I went to a little High-School in North Florida called Marianna High School, which does have more than one red light but most people wouldn't know if it was in Alabama or Florida. Football and Baseball were the sports of choice and I should know being one of the best wrestler's in the Panhandle nobody ever showed up for our wrestling matches. That year though we won game after game before you knew it we had won our District. Then before you know it we were right back where we were the years before, MHS vs. Bolles in the Regional Finals. For some reason this was not no ordinary night though something was diff rent in the air this night. It started off slow and you really had to appreciate defense to enjoy this game but going into the 4th quarter down by 4 on a 6-10 game with minutes left to play it seemed like it was going to be another year losing to Bolles. Then out of no where Mathis hits Dudley on a screen and runs it up the field to about the 8 yard line. Still in need of a TD they hand it off to Dudley where it bruises and battles closer and closer. Then on 3rd and goal he runs to the outside around the defensive end and runs right in to the corner back where Dudley runs him over into the end zone and you would of thought a bomb went off because the crowd went insane. The excitement was so much that the kicker shanks the extra point but with only seconds left in the game it was going to take a run back on the kickoff to win the game for Bolles. So the kickoff everybody is anxious and the kick is off and is caught around the 10 yard line up the middle he goes and "BOOM" gets hammered out of nowhere to be brought down and game was over, Marianna High School had beat the big bad private school to go to the State Finals.


State Finals was one week away in Gainsville FL at The Swamp where all the games would be played. The school so excited was having students paying for school bus drivers to drive them down there so everybody could attend. That Tuesday comes and who was 2A State Player of the Year? Rashard Dudley RB from Marianna High School. It just seemed like it was our year that we were going to make it the whole way and nobody could stop us. We had 2 Senior players being recruited by 1A football, one being Jeff Mathis being recruited as a QB/Safety for FSU. We had 3 other Seniors being recruited by 1AA and 2 Juniors being recruited by 1A ball. It seemed like we had the talent on defense and on offense to make this happen. That whole week was a blur it was one big pep rally because it was going to be a first for Marianna High School winning State in Football. I remember the bus ride there we had literally a hundred cars following us. We had nice dinner the night before and everything seemed just right. Well until I got down there, I had never heard the name but it would be a name I would never forget Sean Taylor. Soon as we get down there the Gulliver Prep were upset that Sean Taylor did not win 2A State Player Of The Year and they let us know about it. Everywhere you would go it was Sean Taylor was robbed, Sean Taylor is twice as good as Dudley, and my favorite Sean Taylor is going to show you why he is the real champ. I particularly liked that one because I knew we were going to show them that we were the real deal.


So the day of the game everybody is little nervous but more excited than anything. On one side you have about the whole City of Marianna filling up the bleachers and then on the other side Gulliver Prep which is out of Miami so they really had it filled up. I will never forget that first half of football because they had written a big sign that said "Sean Taylor The True 2A Player Of The Year" and on another sign below it said "Today You Find Out Why". That day was,I honestly believe that not only our team and coaches but his own team and coaches sat back and watched the show. Sean Taylor had viscous hit after hit on the defensive side, making everybody pay that came his way. He was playing like a man amongst boys and every time Dudley got the hand off there was Taylor laying the hammer to him to the point you were glad you were not Rashard. Then when they were on offense they would hand the ball off to Taylor were he would run straight downhill and hard, taking 3 to 4 tacklers to get him down, but even through all this we were still in the game. Then with less than 6 minutes to go before half there was a fumble returned for a touchdown, then very next kickoff a few plays later another fumble. Few offensive plays later another touchdown that put us pretty much out of reach from winning the game. The second half started and we played strong but Sean Taylor no matter the lead he had was not going to let up, each hit was a punishing hit causing whiplash and damage, he was a one man wrecking crew. After the game was over and we had lost, they had went over to that sign pulled it down and was running it around the field. The only good news that came from that day was Taylor had declared to University of Miami and being my favorite college team, I knew we had received a real player.


That day Sean Taylor left an impression on us all, never really know who he was , we learned a lot about his charachter that day. He played like he had been insulted with a chip on his shoulder and a no prisoner attitude, but after the game he still came up to Rashard and shook his hand and congradulated him for his award. Even in what I would say one of the greatest offensive/defensive performance by one man in Florida High-School State Tournament history he was still humble enough to give Rashard his respect. Now you might know of Sean Taylor for one of many things, but this is who Sean Taylor is to me before he was Sean Taylor.